TalkTalk's fibre broadband base grows by 74,000

TalkTalk has revealed that its fibre broadband base grew by 74,000 between October and December 2016.

This was a bright spot in a mixed set of trading figures, as overall on-net churn rose from 1.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent.

However, the company is confident of a strong performance in the next quarter, due to its Fixed Low Price Plans.

In October, TalkTalk said it would seek to prevent customers experiencing "bill shock" by offering Fix Low Price Plans, which mean broadband prices would be fixed for 18 months.

Last month, the provider announced it is extending this proposition further, ensuring people with 12 or 24-month contracts will not see prices go up during this period.

This offer will be available both to existing customers and to households that are considering switching to TalkTalk.

TalkTalk believes this will help the company deliver lower churn rates and positive net adds in the first three months of 2017.

"Our unique plans fix prices for the duration of customers’ contracts, treat existing customers fairly by allowing them to re-contract onto the new plans, and give customers control of their bundles," it commented.

"The stronger than expected re-contracting rates that we saw in Q3 continued through January and are proving transformative for our brand reputation and business."

Figures showed that 516,000 customers re-contracted on the 18-month plan between October and December, representing more than 13 per cent of the on-net base at the end of the quarter.

A further 81,000 customers re-contracted during the first four weeks of January, with three-quarters of these re-contracting on the 24-month plan.

Over 45 per cent of new customers opted to take fibre, while more than 40 per cent chose to receive a paid-for TV set-top box, which TalkTalk described as encouraging.

"Re-contracted customers are showing early-life churn rates of less than half the levels we have seen under historic re-contracting activity," the company added.

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